I am absolutely nuts about sooji and whenever I'm sick I craves big mouthfuls of soft, buttery, sweet Taystee wheat.

I have contemplated keeping this recipe to myself for the longest time because I didn’t want to disrespect the Indian culture by butchering a traditional dish. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if there is another person out there, who like me, can’t eat sugar and a lot of carbs but really wants sooji.

I make this dish at least once every month and it has become my treat for that week. So no two-finger Kit-Kat, or jelly beans. I choose this because it’s easy and whenever I make it I think of my mother, who I miss so dearly.

This recipe is inspired and is a variation of the Indian Delights ‘plain soji halwa’.

Did you know: Sooji is made from semolina and semolina is an off cut of durum wheat. It’s the center of the wheat germ. During the milling process, the bran and germ is flaked off by rollers. The endosperm is cracked and separated from the bran. Cous cous is also made from the endosperm of duram wheat - I didn’t know that.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Taystee Wheat

3 tbsp ghee (I sometimes use butter)

1/3 cup Xylitol

2 tbsp coconut

1 tsp elaichi (cardamon)

1/8 cup cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup milk

1 cup hot water

Method

1. On medium heat, in a small pot, braise Taystee wheat with the cranberries, elaichi and ghee until the wheat changes colour to light brown.

2. Add boiling water and quickly cover the pot to prevent everything from splashing.

3. Turn down the heat even more and let the wheat cook until it absorbs all the liquid.

4. Add Xylitol and make sure it’s well absorbed before adding the milk.

5. Add coconut and cook with the lid on for 10-15 minutes. My hack is cooking it for 5 minutes, turning the stove off and letting it steam for 10 minutes in the pot.

6. Don’t be tempted to garnish this dish with cream or nuts. All of this is added fats which you don’t need - take my word for it.